Container for explosives



K. K. V.-CASEY.

CONTAINER FOR EXPLOSIVES.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 22.1918.

`1 ,329,503 l Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

I IIII l INITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KELLOGG KEN'NON VENABLE CASEY, 0F WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGN'OB, T0 E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY', OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A.l CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

CONTAINER FOB. EXPLOSIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Application filed July 22, 1918. Serial No. 245,995.

To all ywhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, KELLOGG KENNON VENABLE CASEY, of Wilmington, in the county of New C'astle, and in the State of Delaware, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Containers for Explosives, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention has been to provide a container for explosives for use in firearms in general and large guns in particular and which shall have, among others, the advantages of being light in welght and yet sufficiently` strong to resist the strains of handling and shipment, and which shall not only not 'be detrimental or indifferent to the explosion nor occasion flareb-acks, b-ut shall, on the other hand, positively increase the effectiveness of the explosion, and to such ends my invention consists of the container for yexplosives hereinafter specified. y

In the drawings, v Figure l is a. diagrammatic longitudinal section of "a container made in vaccordance with my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a similar representation of another embodiment of my invention.

Previous to my invention, containers for explosives had been made of various substances, each of .which possessed some advantages, but also involved disadvantages, and none of which was entirely satisfactory. For instance, containers havebeen made of metal, but such containers are heavy', reducing the number of rounds of ammunition which a soldier, -for instance, could carry in the form 0f small arm cartridges, and increasing the weight to be transported for larger ammunition. The metal cartridge also reduces the amount of explosivel whiclf can be contained in the chamber of a gun because of the space which the metal Walls of the container occupy. Suche. container contributes no material to add to the gases of the explosion, and ity cannot readily re. main both' waterproo-f and yet capable of access, so as to vary the amount of explosive therein to conform to the range which is desired, as is desirable in howitzer practice.

Explosive containers have also been made of fabrics, Such as silk. Silk is, however,

expensive and oftentimes difficult to obtain,

and itv has the particular disadvantage of often'leaving an unburned residue inthe 'barrel of the gun, which, when the breech is opened, admitting air, produces what is known as a Hare-back, or puff of fiame backward through the breech, endangering the gun crew. Sllk containers are not strong enough to stand all the rou h treatment, some of which they unavoida ly receive in transportation and in the haste of the load.

ing of guns, and the silkfabric does not protect the explosive from the moisture of the air. In howitzer practice, it is usual for a charge of explosive to. consist of a'number of silk bags,` each containing a unit of explosive, all of which bags are fastened together in such a manner that the range can e varied by takingaway one.0r more of the unit bags from the main charge. When a -unit bag is thus removed from the main charge, it is laid aside and exposed to the moisture -of the atmosphere and to the moisture of the ground (upon which it is likely to be laid), and, consequently, the explosive contained therein is likely to be injured.

Moreover, the removal of a unit bag of-explosive from the larger container varies the length of the container. v

Silk containers, also, are not rlgidv and i have no definite shape and, therefore, can- 'not be handled as readily' nor inserted into vthe un as easily as a' container having a definite' rlgid' shape, and there 1s,- consequently, no w'ay of maintaining close conv tact nor any fixed vrelation between the silk casing and the primer discharge, and thus its use introduces an element of chance as to whether the charge'will be exploded.

I have provided acontainer which overcomes all ofthe disadvantages above mentioned and which, besides, possesses decided advantages over those of the priorart.

My invention consists primarily of a container made of a substance contributing to the propellent lpower of the gases of the explosion. I prefer to form my container of nitrocellulose or compositions containin the same,4 and preferably ofy a composition W :ch burns completely and instantaneously with the burning of the container will add to the propellent effect of the charge. l

I shall first describe some of the best cm.-

, the explosive charge so that the gases from bodiments of my invention known to me,

I by weight camphor.

and shall then more ully'- point out the advantages thereof.

My invention is capable of being carried outin many different ways, and the embodiments thereof which I shall describe are to be regarded as typical only of many possible embodiments and my invention is not to be confined thereto.

In the drawings I have shown a container, allof the different parts of which are made of nitrocellulose or a nitrocellulose composition, such for example as -acomposition containing: 75% by weight pyroxylin (containing 11% by weight nitrogen), and 25% These parts may be made from a sheet material having the above composition, but it' is to be understood that inthe making of the sheet material any plastic composition containing 'volatile solvents or not, if desired, may be used. Such composition containing volatile solvents may be the following: 75 parts by weight pyroxylin (containing 11% by weight nitrogen), parts by weight camphor, 2. parts by Weight vol-atile.solvents, as for example a mixture containing volatile solvents as follows: 50 by weight methyl alcohol 50% by weight eth vl alcohol.

Referring especiallyl to Fig. 1, I may provide a container comprising 'an outer cylindrical casing 1, which may be made in the form of a tube by'welding or cementing the tWo edges of the sheet material together, or

which may be made from the above plastic composition by extrusion through suitable dles or by dlstending a thin layer of the said plastic material against the internal surface of a mold having the shape of said cylindrical casing 1 by air or steam pressure. In cementing these parts together, as well as any ofthe other parts that are herein described as being cemented together, lmay use any desired appropriate cement,- but, by way of example, l may use a cement containing: 10 parts by weight of pyroxylin, 90 parts by weight of a solvent, such for example as acetone, amyl acetate or an ether alcohol mixture containing by weight of ether and 80% by Weight of ethyl alcohol. Within the cylindrical casing 1 there is inserted a main charge 2 of any desired explosive, as for example nitrocellulose smokeless powder. `ln the rear of this there is located a perforated diaphragm 3, having .an annular flange 4ce1nented to the interior of the casing 1, said diaphragm having,

if desired, perforations 5 for the ignition of a charge 2, and an annular strengthening rib 6. In the rear of the diaphragm 8 there is abodv 7 of black powder for the igni` tion of the charge 2, and in the rear ot the black powder charge 7 there is an end closure 8 having a flange 9Vthat is adapted to be cemented to the interior of the casing 1.

The closure 8 is also provided with straps 12 and 13 for use in handling the container.

.which is preferably cemented to the closure 8. Said membrane 14 may be comprised of any desired material which will be shattered 0r consumed by theflash from the primer of the usual type used in connection with explosive charges ofthis character, but preferably it is comprised of a Waterproof material, such as sheet pyroxylin plastic, the composition of Which is described above, or ballistite, comprising a mixture of: 40 parts by weight of nitroglyc'erin, and 60 parts by weight or" nitrocellulose (containing 12.6% by weight of nitrogen). The ballistite referred to is a detonating composition, but all these materials Will readily shatter under the influence of the primer.

l At the forward end of the ncharge 2 there is a diaphragm 15, having a flange 16 ce'- mented to the interior of the casing 1. Beyond this diaphragm 1,5 there are one or more unit or increment charges 17, having substantially one-third, or any other proportionate part, of the propellent effect of the charge 2. Said increment chargesl 17 are inclosed within a subsidiary cylindrical casing 18 madel in the same manneras the casing 1 and having a rearward closure 19 provided with a flange 20 cemented in the interior of said casing 18, as well as a forward closure 21 provided with a flange 22, also cemented in the interior of the casing 18. My unit or increment charge-s can be made water- Vand moisture-proof. The casing 18 is also provided with a strap 23 for inserting or removing the casing 18 into and from the casing .1. At the forward end of the casing 1 there is an end closure 24, having a flange 25 which fits in t-he casing 1,

which may or may not be cemented thereto. Said closure 24 carries a strap 25 to assist inthe insertion and removal thereof to and from the casing 1. l

The embodiment of' my invention shown in Fig. 2 is constructed in the same manner as the form of my invention shown in Fig. l, except that in this instance there is a perforated diaphragm 26, constructed the same it to the action of the primer discharge. The disk-31 may be made of any of the materials before mentioned.

A cap 32 is slipped over the end of the container to protect the disk and the charge The facing of the flange outward also permits the diaphragm to be crowded against the explosive Within the container Without danger of the flange catching on the grains of explosive and preventing the diaphragm itself from coming in contact throughout its surfacel With the explosive.

In using the containers such as shoWn in Fig. 1, itis merely necessary to insertone of the containers, provided with the explosive 'charges as described, in a gun, and

then to fire the same in the usual manner. v

In the handling of the container provided n, it is desired to be accomplished by removing the increment charge 17 and by omitting the same altogetlier or replacing it with a smaller increment charge. In ma'king changes of increment charges, the straps 23 and 25 are used. Before using the container shown in Fig. 2, it is necessary first to remove the cap'32.

My container possesses, among other advantages, the following advantages:

As the material in,y my container is of a nature to be more or less completely consumed during the explosion, the gases of comb-ustion add to the propellent force of the explosive. Thus, the Walls of my container, .in their combustion, replace to a considerable extent the propulsive effect of the solid explosive Which they displace'.

When my container is made of nitrocellulose and is charged with smokeless powder, the chemical natures of t'he container and the explosive charge. are in a general Wayvery much alike, differing cliieiiy as tothe percentage of lnitrogen present and in the solvents used, land, under these circumstances, my container may be said to consist of explosive mlaterial related to the explosive propellents used.

My container is exceedingly. light in Weight and, in effect, and considering the fact that the combustion of its Walls adds to the effectiveness of the explosion, it is as though there were neither substantial loss of weight or propulsive effort, so far as the side Walls of my container are concerned. A soldiercould carry many more: cartridges having side Walls constructed in accordance with my invention than he could carry of cartridgeshaving the usual all-metal containers.

My container is Waterand moistureproof and is\not subject to corrosion. Y, Although m container is light in Weight,

yet it has su cient strength to resist all 'is easily afforded to the increment containers for the purpose of removing one or more of them. The increment charge containers are perfectly waterproof and are not in any manner injured by being laid on the ground or exposed to the Weather when they are removed from the container.y

My containers are rigid and of a definite shape and can, therefore, behandled with the utmost readiness ininserting them into a gun. Being of a fixed length, Whether or not one or more of the increment charges has been removed, my containers maintain close contact with, or any desired fixed relation with, the primer discharge,so there is certainty that the explosive Within the container Will be set o.

l claim: i

l. A container for explosive charges made of Waterproof quick-burning material, having therein a removable container for an increment charge.

2. A container for explosive charges made of a material containing nitrocellulose, having therein a removable container for an increment charge. f

3. A container for explosive charges made of a material containing nitrocellulose and camphor, having therein a removable container for an increment charge.

4. A containerjfor explosive charges made of Waterproof quick-burning material, having therein a removable container for an increment charge as Well as a removable closure beyond the removable container.

5. A container for explosive charges made of a material containing nitrocellulose, having therein a removable container for an A increment charge as Well as a removable cloi having therein a' removableoontainer for an increment charge made of similar material.

8. A container for explosive charges made of Waterproof quick-burning material and having therein a removable container for an increment charge made of similar material,

said container for an increment charge being made impervious to Water.

9. A container for explosive charges carrymg a main explosive charge 1n its rear portlon, and a subsidiary caslng locatedY Within the forward portion of said container andv carrymg an mcrement charge, sald caslng being removable from said oontalner.

10. A container for explosive charges carrying a main explosive charge, having therein a casing carrying an increment charge, said casing being removable from said container.

l1. A container for explosive charges carrying a main explosive charge 'in the rear of Waterproof-quick burning material@ 12. A container or explosive charges carrying a main explosive charge in its rear portion, 'and a subsidiary casing located Within the forward portion of said container and carrying an increment charge, said casing being removable from said container, said casing and container both being in arde ofa material containing nitrocellulose.

v In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my l1-and.

KELLGG KENNoN VENABLE CASEY. Witnesses:

G. D. HOPKINS, STANLEY L. ABRAMS. 

